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AN annRESs 



DECORATION DAY 



Northville, May 30th, 1884, 



GEORGE DUFFIELD, A. M. 



"All time is the millennium of their glory/ —EVERETT. 



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"OVER welcome Spring ! Both young men and maidens, 
old men and children bid thee, All hail ! 
This 'renewing of the face of the earth,' is something to 
which the most stolid of mortals can never become wholl.y 
accustomed. It breaks up the monotony of life like nothing 
else. Instead of naked and unsightly skeletons, al^ the trees 
of the field, and the forest, are dressed in the full magnifi- 
cence of leaf and flower ; and in this there is an intimation ^ 
of something higher than earth ! 

The rod that budded, was a sign, 
To all who saw, of power divine ; 
But now the 'anointed eye' may see, 
An Aaron's rod in every tree! 

Between this season and youth, there is the strongest 
possible sympathy, and youth enjoy it;* W" the vety utmost! 
No worm as yet on the leaf, no blossom |aded and fallen from 
the bough, not a single winged seed wafted into air from its 
parent flower, not a solitary note silenced in the chorus of 
universal song; — the longest day is not too long to gratify 
the eye, and feast the ear ; and night with envious veil 
comes all too soon. 

With those, however, who have had a deeper experience 
of life, it is quite otherwise. In the glad chorus we can 
not fail to recognize a minor strain. We^ feel a shadow 
creeping over the landscape, that was once as bright to us. as 
to others. The beautiful season does not come altogether as 
it formerly did ; a glory has passed away, that we would 
gladly have retained. 



"It is not now, as it hath been of yore!'" 

Many things it returns with the birds, but there are 
many more it does not return. It gives a new and fresh 
existence to the leaf, as if it had been just created in Para- 
dise : but once there were hopes, precious hopes — and where 
are they? It gives back the bud and blossom, as fragrant 
and as fair as ever: but once there were affections, warm and 
dear as life itself ; — does the spring ever renew them? The 
incense-breathing south blows softly and opens the earth, 
and makes it soft with showers ; but it opens not the grave: 
it does not restore the precious dust that we have there 
treasured, out of our sight. It is as cold, and dark, and 
cheerless as winter itself, and still more silent. 

It seems strange that the earth can be so beautiful, when 
those are absent who were once so dear ; and who can no 
longer share with us, in its exuberant beauty : and whose 
companionship made life itself. In very deed it makes us 
sad to our inmost soul to see the earth so gay; when our loss 
has been to us nothing less than that of the spinng out of 
the year, — we almost wish that her next flowers may bloom 
above ourselves. 

Thus it is, that to those who have lost friends in war, 
or by disease at home, the season naturally becomes one of 
mournful remembrance; and as there is no fellowship so 
deep as that of suffering, the observance of such a custom as 
this, and at such a time, is equally natural and ajipropriate. 
I see in it nothing of superstition, but much of gratitude; 
nothing of ostentation, but much of patriotism ; and in the 
tender sympathy it manifests for the widow and the father- 
less, not a little of pure and undefiled religion. 

Even death is no exception to the universal rule of cost 
and compensation — for while it separates us from some whom 
we love, it brings so much the nearer, and makes the dearer, 
others who are left to mourn a bereavement that belongs 
to all. 



Tlio' T luive never before been in tliese streets, or seen 
these faces, I cannot but think well of a place, and of a 
people, to whom such sentiments are welcome and familiar. 
My only regret is that so brief a time for preparation — 
permits me to do so great a theme— but im[)erfect justice. 

Perha[»s the feeling that underlies this beautiful custom 
first found expression on the IDth of April, 1801, when the 
memorable despatch was sent from Boston to the Mayor of 
Baltimore by Governor Andrew — "I pray you cause the 
bodies of our Massachusetts soldiers, dead in baffle, to be 
immediately laid out, preserved in ice and tenderly sent 
forward by express to me. All expenses will be paid by this 
Commonwealth." 

But when and where this dai/ had its original observance 
is somewhat uncertain. The first notice your speaker had 
of it was at New Orleans, and as Pere La Chaise is the 
parent of modern cemeteries, so the custom of decorating 
the grave, and thus divesting it in some degree of that 
indefinable terror with which it is so apt to be regarded, 
may be borrowed from the French. 

The next notice was in a dirge, by Henry Timrod, sung 
on the occasion of decorating the graves of the Confederate 
dead at Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, South Carolina ; 
where the victims of a fallen cause are apostrophized in 
strains more worthy of other and better martyrs ! 

'■ In seeds of laurel on the earth, 

The blossom of your fame is blown. 

And somewhere waiting for its birth, 
The shaft is in the stone." 

Gradually the custom found its way along the Atlantic 
coast to Richmond, where to this very hour so many of 
her daughters dress in the deepest mourning, which to the 
end of their lives they will never consent to lay aside. 
Well may these Rachels continue to weep for their children, 



and refuse to be comforted, if they have no better prayer 
than this; 

''Stoop ano'els hither from the skies, 
"There is no holier spot of ground, 

" Than where defeated valor lies, 
•' I3y mourning beauty crowned. 

Even the First Napoleon could understand that "It was 
the cause, and not the death, that makes the martyr," and 
that he himself was only a victim of pride and ambition, 
and not a martyr at all. 

" Who falls for love of God shall rise a star !" 

But no such resurrection of national fame, can await 
those who have lifted a parricidal hand against the life of 
the Nation ;* "who would have robbed their country of its 
Nationality ! The people of the prerogatives of man!" For 
them the shaft that is in the stone, will never come out of it! 

The universal indignation occasioned by firing on the 
flag at Sumpter, has long since passed away, with the flags 
that then waved defiance from every loyal house-top; 
the deeper and more abiding resentment by which it was 
followed at the outbreak of a rebellion, so unnecessary and 
indefensible,f has itself been followed by .the calm and 
irreversible judgment of history; and there is no further 
occasion for crimination or recrimination. That day has 
gone by; but there is still need of such a day as this, in 
which for every patriot heart to bear their annual testimony 
on the point at issue ; it is a privilege they will not be 
denied. 

Willingly do I accord to the men and women of the 
South, the right of a common humanity to mourn their dead, 
when and wheresoever they choose.:}: I give the men of 

* App. B. 1 App. C. t App. D. 



Stonewiill Jiicksoii's division iiiul others, full credit for vidor, 
desperate as was ever seen in all the annals of war ; I freely 
award to those in the opposing armies the name of soldier, 
they so deservedly possess in common. Heroes all ! to 
depreciate tlieir valor would in the same ratio diminish ours 
also. Within certain limits as defined by themselves, I do not 
deny them a sectional rather than American patriotism, that 
is peculiarly their own. I can even see how under the 
erroneous instruction of their orators, civil and religious, tlie 
decisive test that bound their conscience, was loyalty to the 
individual State, as ours to the country at large ; and there- 
fore in the due exercise of christian charity, I would in 
nowise impeach the sincerity of their religion. "' With 
malice toward none," like the martyred Lincoln, I certainly 
cherish toward them no unforgiving spirit. In the South 
the prevailing sentiment was hatred of the North ; in the 
North not hatred of the South, but love of the Union as a 
whole ; then as ever, love more powerful than hate, and 
light than darkness ! 

My own personal testimony may have some interest here. 
As a member of the Christian Commission, even within 
sight of our loyal dead and dying, and fully aware of the 
hon-ors then passing in Libby, Andersonville, and other 
prison pens; at different times and places, in the Rebel Wards 
of the Washington Hospitals, on the bloody field of Gettys- 
burg, and at Bermuda Hundred and City Point, after the 
battles of the Wilderness, these hands have ministered to 
their necessities ; when hungry and thirsty given them their 
first bread to eat and water to drink; at their own entreaties 
— washed and cleansed their wounds from something worse 
than blood — services, for which, if I may take their own 
word for it. at the time, they were not altogether ungrateful! 
Even more than this, at the Yorktown Centennial, I was 
willing to meet and did meet them, and cordially extend the 
right hand of American citizenship, to which they were 



6 



entitled, bj a national amnesty as generous as unparalleled ! 
God forbid we should ever have occasion to regret it! 

Beyond this, charity no louger rejoices in the truth. The 
record of the past is forever unalterable. Their "cause" was 
not our cause, our enemies themselves being judges — for it 
was "lost." In that mortal strife it was not the color of the 
uniform that made the difference. There was a difference in 
fundamental principles of civilization and government. We 
went into the war for the Union ; we fought it through 
against treason and rebellion. Living or dead, their soldiers 
must remain what they were, and ours what they were, to 
the end of time. In the charm of brilliant valor we may 
forget the injustice of the occasion that called it forth, but 
it will be only for a moment. The sober second thought of 
the people will never allow it to be permanent. Their dead 
are not our dead, nor our dead theirs. By a beautiful courtesy 
we may observe the same day for the expression of our grief; 
we may jnit the rose or the lily on the graves of the departed, 
or combine them both; but never can we mark them with 
the same flag. Nor if I understand Southern character 
aright, would they thank us, or even allow us so to do. 

Aboiit the same time that Richmond began to decorate 
her graves, Washington, at the National Cemetery at Arling- 
ton, and elsewhere, began to decorate ours. The first time I 
saw the day observed was at Harrisburg, on the banks of my 
native Susquehanna — in 1868 — and never while memory 
lasts will I forget the weeping eyes of mothers, wives, and 
daughters in that sorrowful procession; — the feelings with 
which I joined them and followed to the cemetery — nor the 
sceiie that then ensued, when they threw themselves on the 
graves of their dead, and gave utterance to their grief. 

Onl,y once before had I witnessed anything just like it, 
and of all other days, on the morning that brought the 
news that Richmond was taken. At the request of two of 
the Boys in Blue, I had gone nine miles into the country 



to attend a soldior's funeral. The day was cold and raw, 
but the road on either side was lined with wagons, and 
the large school house completely filled. The two soldiers 
who came as a committee, met me at the door, and gave a 
word of explanation ! '' This poor Avoman has lost a father, 
and a husband, and a son; but none of them have been 
brought home! She thought if she could only get her friends 
togethep, and have a funeral, it would do her good! We beg 
pardon for bringing you so far on a sort of false pretense, 
but Ave thought ijoii would understand it!" 

Taking my place in the desk, I said, how many of you in 
this 'cruel' war (as we were then accustomed to call it), like 
this poor woman, have lost fathers? The number of hands 
that went up were not a few! How many of you like her, 
have lost husbands ? More hands went up than before ! 
How many, hrothers ? The show of hands was still greater. 
How many of you like her, have lost sons? And then there 
were more hands than ever, amid such weeping as stopped all 
further inquiry, and made the place a complete Bochim ! 

When at length I found myself able to speak, and the 
people to hear, I dared to say among other things for their 
comfort — that the war in which we were then engaged was 
a just one, unjustly forced upon us; that our cause was not 
only that of constitutional liberty, but of humanity itself; — 
that as such it was well worth all that it would cost; — 
in the Union preserved and the country saved. Now and 
then it would so happen, that the calamities of the Avar 
would be unusually heavy in particular localities, and so it 
was here. I did not dare to tell all I kneAv about the regi- 
ment, that AA'ent from that vicinity, and in Avhose history Ave 
had a fair sample of too many others. 

In the summer of 18G1 I saw them take up their hue of 
march, 1.100 strong. After the battle of Gettysburg, so 
many of them had been killed, Avounded, and taken prisoners, 
and detailed for other duty, that Avhen the roll Avas called, one 



8 



of the soldiers whom I met on my way to the White Meet- 
ing-house informed me, they only numbered that morning 
''forty-eight muskets!" All the rest killed, wounded, prison- 
ers, or in the hospital. During its term of service, the losses 
of that regiment were eight officers, one hundred and six- 
teen men, killed in action; four officers and 56 men died of 
wounds; one officer and two hundred and thirt3^-six men 
died of disease; total. 408. Besides the triple battle of 
Gettysburg, Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, the Wilderness and 
Petersburg, they participated in fifty of the seven hundred 
other battles in that gigantic war. Aiul thus it was, that in 
the eleven regiments of cavalry, the thirt}- regiments of 
infantry, etc., amounting in all to ninety thousand seven 
hundred and forty-seven, Michigan's Roll of Honor 
stands: Commissioned officers 358, enlisted men 14,855: 
total, 14,885. 

These were the heroes and martyrs who, with others of 
the 270,000 on the National Roll of Honor, stood by the 
Republic in the dark hours of Treason, of Suspense, of 
National Defeat, of Invasion, of Foreign Intervention, of 
Military Crisis, of Political Crisis, and proved that we still 
were a Nation; that we still had a Government; that it 
could no longer be considered an experiment; and who gave 
due notice that all the boastings of Rebellion would end, in 
ignominious failure and Intter disappointment! 

Occu)\ying a position midway between the East and the 
West, and close ui)on an almost hostile frontier, the soldiers 
of Michigan had the double duty of sustaining the centre 
and being on the advanced guard. Brave men and true were 
they as ever shouldered a musket or drew a sword! — men of 
the mighty heart! men who had souls — " public souls,'' — men 
who could take in and feel np to their share in the noble 
cause in Avliich they were engaged! Well worthy the}' to 
bear the ujjlifted shield, and on their colors the symbolic 
motto of the State, "1 will defend!" 



9 



Perhaps, instead of mere general terms of eulogy, the 
peculiar nature of this occasion will permit them to speak 
for themselves. 

Going on the steamer "J. W. Brooks " from City Point to 
the relief of Washington, I found by my side on the crowded 
ujiper deck an artilleryman, to whom the day had been a 
hard one. Pouring his cold coffee from his canteen, soaking 
his hard-tack in it, and picking a rind of bacon so clean that 
he could not find a scrap more, he shut up his knife with the 
cheerful exclamation, " Many a better dinner have I eaten at 
home, but never one that I enjoyed more than this!" Before 
such men the "big skirmish line" of the rebels soon disap- 
peared. 

Late one evening, visiting the i)0st hospital at Bermuda 
Hundred, and finding nearly all asleep but one, I inquired for 
the man a contraband had that day brought through the 
lines, who had thirteen rebel buckshot in him. "No," said 
he, " he has only seven," and suiting the action to the word, 
he said, "Here are the other six; I am good for the Johnnies 
yet!" 

Just after a battle I found a young man of remarkably 
intelligent countenance. " Well, my boy, Avhat can I do 
for you?" "0! nothing; Fm all right!" said he; but 
perceiving from his tone there was something wanting, I 
repeated my inquiry. " You will think me foolish," he re- 
plied, " l)ut in the last skirmish 1 was left wounded on the 
field, and my testament was so soaked with blood and rain 
that it fell to pieces." ''That want is easily supplied," I 
said. " No," said he, " not so easy as you think, for it was 
a Greek testament !" What was his delight when, taking 
out of my jjocket this very copy that I now hold in my hand, 
he had the pleasure of reading a cha])ter in the original! 

After the battle of Gettysburg, I went into a church that 
had been converted into a hospital, and inquired if there 
were any men from Michigan. " Here's one," said a feeble 



10 



voice of a boy of eighteen: "are you from Michigan?" 
" Yes." " Well, what do they think at home of the Army 
of the Potomac «o/^?" I told him '' Just what we always 
thought; that it would be all right with the men, when they 
got the right leaders." "That's so," said he; "I tell you 
Mr. Duffield, there was not a man who went into this last 
fight, but had a heart as hUj as a meet in' house!'" In the eye 
of that boy I first saw the strange, unearthly light that con- 
vinced me of a divine afflatus, and of the truth of the 
Cromwellian doctrine, that "Great courages are the gift of 
the Almighty!" 

Not long after I found another soldier, braver still! Hav- 
ing conquered in one battle, he was now preparing for 
another, and as I looked over his shoulder, I found him deep 
in Ephesians vi., and putting on the whole armor of God, 
that he might come off more than conqueror in the last 
great conflict Avith the King of Terrors — like many another 
whom T met — " Every inch a soldier, and every inch a 
Christian!" 

Call the roll of all the heroes of Greek or Roman fame, 
and I will venture to find their parallels in the heroes of our 
own Republic, and exhaust the list ! With all that has been 
said in honor of our heroes — -either in the State or Nation 
at large — we can never say too much. Lincoln stands alone. 
And where will you find inanhoorJ, if not in such a king of 
men, as Gakfield ? Where thunderbolts of war, if not in 
such leaders as Grant, and Sherman, and Sheridan, and 
Custer? Where citizen soldiers, whose every "bayonet 
thinks," if not in the rank and file of as brave an army as 
ever trod the crimson field! But pardon me that I thus 
speak to those who know those men so well already. I only 
venture on such testimony, that they may confirm it, for the 
sake of the generation that has risen since. 

They are not dead, but rather we seem to be dead who still 
survive ! They live iu song, Avhich has no sweeter elegies 



11 



than those which lament tlieir loss ! They live in eloqnence 
— in the impassioned enlogy of the orator, who, since the 
day of Pericles, can find no theme more grateful to himself, 
nor more aecei)ta])le to his hearer. They live in history, that 
has no brighter jiage, than that which records their deeds. 
The.y live in onr hearts, and to live in the hearts of others 
is the best place for an}' man to live. They live in their 
descendants, the sons and grandsons of their noble sires. 
They live in the life of the country they have rescued, from 
the mightiest rebellion, since Lucifer attem))ted to ascend the 
sapphire steps of the eternal throne. 

Glory to God, and honor to their sacred names. 

"They live — they live — ^in blest eternity!" 

Those who fell on the Eurymedon, at Marathon, Ther- 
mopylae and Salamis, were honored among the Greeks as 
eqvially worthy of remembrance by gods and men. It was 
not a dirge they sang, but a p;ean approprifite to their fallen 
heroes, its tone not mournful, but triumphant. And how 
wonderfull}' significant their inscriptions: 

" When on a razor's edge all Hellas stood. 
We who lie here preserved her with our blood." 

And again — 

" Go tell the Spartans, thou that passest by, 
That here obedient to her laws we lie." 

" 'Tis but two lines, and all Greece for centuries had them 
by heart. She forgot them! and Greece was living Greece 
no more.'" 

— It is good for each State to have its Roll of Honor, in 
which to record the immortal names — 

" That were not born to die." 

It is good for our universities and colleges to institute 
Memorial Halls for those of their number, who have gradu- 
ated with higher than academic honors on "" the high places 



12 



of the field." Tt is pjood for comities and townships to build 
enduring monuments to friends and kindred, at the expense 
of whose lives we had '' victory at last !"' It is good to erect 
memorial pillars on the field of battle, where stood the un- 
conquerable battery, or Avhere the cavalry made their desper- 
ate charge ! It is good to lay out national cemeteries — of 
which there are now eighty-one larger, and several hundred 
smaller, scattered all over the land. But best of all is it, as 
each successive j^ear the faithful earth provides the flowers, 
to decorate their graves ! 

Go forth, then, fair maidens, to ,your appointed task, and 
as" ye scatter with grateful hands the vernal flowers above 
these precious mounds of green, remember, that while honor- 
ing others you put no little honor on yourselves. 

Remember, since the untimely death of Adonis b}' the tusk 
of the cruel boar, it has been the tender custom of the vir- 
gins in ever}' age, in some form or other, to walk in proces- 
sion and lament the fate of those who came to an untimely 
death by the hand of lawless violence. Remember, as you 
represent the eight and thirty States, that in all countries 
there has never been just such another Union as our own — 
the union of single States, and of the representatives of the 
people at large — woven together into the truest and strongest 
government on earth ! 

As the dew gems the grass of the morning, ,ye need not be 
ashamed to drop a kindly tear, for these martyrs are your 
own. 

Of the total number of these who enlisted, the average 
age was fivenfij-tivo, and their last word, more frequently 
than any other, was Mother ! 

Patriotism is only another name for the love of home — 
and they fought as truly for their altars and their fires — on 
the other side of the Potomac — as though they fought and 
fell at their own door. 



13 



"Above tlip (le;u-, hviwo hearts that cease to beat, 

Let loving hands strew flowers on every mound, 

Within the lines of the still camping ground, 
Wbere tliere is no assault, and no retreat, 
And victory is not followed by defeat. 

Unbroken rest anil [»eace jit last are t'ouiul ; 

No c.laBh of swords, no trumpet's tluilling sound 
Nor roar of guns disturb tlieir slumbers sweet. 

Their deeds are writ on memory's sacred scroll ; 
And patriot love shall touch these hearts of ours. 

When, at their graves. Fame comes to call the roll, 
And hope, and love, and honor scatter flowers.- 

Brave souls survive the storms of sliot and flame ; 

Their furlough blossoms in eternal fame.'' 

There is a beaittiful German legend that "At the return 
of every Spring, the Emperor Charlemagne comes back from 
his grave, to bless the land over which he once held sway; 
that up and down the Rhine he walks, flinging his blessing 
on gardens, and vineyards, and fields, to multiidy the vint- 
age and the harvest/' So with our soldier-dead, who fell 
under the flag in defense of the Union. 

"The spirit of their example is still here. It fills the air. 
It fills our hearts, and long as time shall last, it will hover 
in the skies," and rest upon the land for which they died! 



I^ortliuillii |[d1J of ^(oi|or. 



Mkn h il\t l^cuolntiduaru IfJar, 



KICHARI) LEWIS. 



W^r. in tfje l|}at d 1812, 



ASA SUA. 
WILLIAM SICKLKS. 
WILLIAM DITNLAP 
OLIVER VVHITAKEE. 
Capt. CALKR IIARKINGTON 
ISRAElv NASH. 
PAUT- HAZEX. 
GEO. B. DENNIS. 
THOS. WATTS. 
JOS. WOODMAN, A. ]\L, M i) 



HENRY I'OMEROY. 
AVERY DOWNER, M. D. 
ASA SLOAN. 
JOSEPH ALLEN. 
Kev. ANSON SHA. 
Dka. E. C. WILLIS. 
SAMUEL WHITE. 
ABRAM VRADENBURGH, 
JOHN BALL. 



^oltlicvs in t(jc }|lexirau l|/n^. 



AMOS B. GOOCH, killed, Pueblo, 
1847. 



DANIEL BROWN. 
JOHN BLOYE. 



7^1. 



CHAUNCEV D. RATHBURX, Co. D.,5th M. Cav., kilk'cl, Litlletown, Pa. 



Gettysburg, ha. 
" Boonesboro, Md . 
Winchester, Va. 
Cedar (Jr., Va. 
Chantilly, Va. 
Leestown, Va. 
died of wilds., Fortress Monroe 
Washington, ]).C- 
Hospt., Pliiladelphia. 

" Fairfax, C. H.,Va. 
Andersonville Prison. 



Florence Prison. 
Libl)y P. ison. 
Millen Prison. 
Hspt, Washington, D.C. 
Florence Prison, S. C. 
Hspt. .Ciinibcrland, Ten. 
" Knoxville. Ten. 
" Washiiifcton.D.C 
Ft Gaines, Ala. 
2d Battle Bull Kuii. 
Campbell Hspt., Tenn. 
died, unknown. 



killcc 



NELSON A. ALLEN. 

ALFRED C. ANDERSON, 

JOHN D. GUDITH, 

CHAS. W. HIGGINvS, 

ALLEN HARMON, 2d Lt., 

JULIUS JOHNSON. 

NORTON MARSHALL, 1st Sut., • 

STEPHEN RYDER, 

JAS. M GREER, 

JOS. LOUNT, 

LEWIS K. VAN GEISON, 

DANIEL H. PALMER, 

PHILANDER LEWIS, 

CHAS. H. W, MILLER, 

WALLACE W. SMITH, 

NODIAH C. WARD, 

HENljy VRADENBURGH, Co. I., '.'2d Ilifl., 

OLIVER S. LEDYARH, 

GEO. v-iMITH, Co. H., 5th M. Cav., 

ALFRED WILLIS, Co. C, 24th M. Inft., 

HENRY SCRIBNER, Co. H., 9th Cav., 

DAVID PALMER, Co. E., 2d Inft., 

ALBERT CLARK, qo. B , 2d Inft,, 

GEO. FRANKISCh!co. I., 6th Intt., 

JOSEPH DEZELA, Co. H. 2d Inft., 

DELOS ANDREWS, Co. H.. 2d Inft., . 

WM. HAWKINS, Co. IL, 2d Inft., 

TRUMAN BARKER, Co. H., 2d Inft., died of wounds, Hospt., Washington. 

FRANKLIN EMORY, 2d Lt. Co. C , 7th Inft., killed, Frederickburg, Va. 

WM. M. WATKRMAN, 2d Lt. Co. C, 1st Cav., killed, Louisa C. H.,Va. • 

ALEXANDER HAMILTON, Co. M., 1st U. S. Cav., killed, Littlestown, Pa. 

CHAS. PINKERTON, Co. C, 24th Inft., killed. Wilderness, Va. 

DAVID VAN HOUTEN. Co. F., ICth Inft., killed, Chicahoniiny, Va. 

(HAS. D. BOVEE, Co. K., 9th Cav., killed. Blue Springs, Tenn. 

JOSEPH REEVES, Co. F., 1st Cav., killed, (iettysburgli. Pa. 

ROBT. ANDERSON, Co. H., 1st Cav , killed, Brenisville, \a. 

GEO. SMITH, Co. I., (ith Cav., Morganzie's Bend, Miss. River. 

WM. KELLOGG, Co. D., 6th Inft. 

JAS. BURR. Co. C, 1st Cav., died in hospital, Philadelphia. Pa. 

CLAKK STEWART, Co. G„ 14th Inft., died in hospital, Nashville, Tenu. 

JOSEPH PUTNAM, Co. F., I6tli Inft., killed. Wilderness, Va. 

LEANDER YERKES, Co. E., 2.3d Inft., died in hospital. Bowling Green, Ky. 

JOHN S. RYDEK, Co. B., 24th Intt., killed, Gettvsburgh, Pa. 

LUCIUS LIGNIAN. Co. D.. Fng and Mechs., died in hospital. Hilton Head. 

CHAS. L. (iOOCH, 14th Union. W. V., killed. Winchester, Va. 

HORACE GOOCH. Co. B., 6th Cav., killed. Falling Water. Va. 

JNO. H. JANES, Co. C., 24th Inft., died in hospital, Washington, D. C. 

WM. HERRINGDEEN, Co. C, 24tli Inft., died in hospital, Baltimore, Md. 

JOSIAH CRONKITE, Co. F.. 16th Inft., killed, R chmond, Va. 

GEO. CRANDALL, Co. H., 22d InfL, killed Chicaniauga, Tenn. 

DAVID DAVISON, Co. B., 20th Inft., Hospt.. Crab Orchard, Ky. 

M. O. AVALKER, Co. -, 6th Inft., killed Fort Donelson. 

JOHN HUGHESTON, Co. I., 22d Inft., Hospt., Stevenson, Ala. 

HENRY PARMEXTER, Co. C, 30th Inft., Hospt., Jackson, Mich. 



^crtliuiKe |>(iliIici;o uilio ^^iiruiucil tf(t l|Jnr (er lljc fam\. 



CKO. WELCH, Co. C, -Mtli lull. 

A H. IMARKHAM, 
J. W. BABI5ITT, 
W.U.THAYER, 
JAUED TCRKIL, 

A. rOMKUOV.-^d Lt. " 
F. T. STEWART, 
CALVIN MAX IT ELI), " 
CHAS. DOHBlNrs, 
NORMAN COLLINS, " 
WM. H. BRIUHAM, " 

B. F. BRIGHAM, 
AV. F. HUGHES, 

GEO. HOTSINGTON, " 
JAS. C. BRUCE. Co F.. 
A. W. HOSNER, 

C. T. RODGERS, Capt. Co. C. •■ 
GEO. CALKINS. Co. M., 8 Iiifr. 
W HORRINGTON, Co. G , Ulli liitl. 
W . E. SPKING ST E E N . " 

C.E. CLAKKSON. 

L. CHARTER, 

*PERRIN WKiHT, " 

*I. B. WILKINSON, ((.. I., null Intl. 

W. CRONKITE, Co. F., 

J. S. GOOCH, Co. , Edk- .t Midi. 

J. GUTHRIE, Co. I . Ens. & Mclis 

.S. F. HUGHES, Co. D., " 

W. E. DOWNER, Co. L, " 

N. B. HUGHS. Co. F . " 

E. S MOULTON,Co. E., " 

O.W.MOULTON.Co. E, " 

J.F.ANDEESON, Co.F.. " 

T. ROGERS, Co. I., " 

*W. SL.^TER. Co F., " 

M. PALMER, Co. H.. 3iil Iiift, 

1) PHILLIPS, 

II. B.VRNUM. Co. I., 

J.H. WOODMAN, Cpt., " 

*S. WYMAN, 

E. VRADENBURGH. " 

SETH NOBLE, 

*II. B. GOODALL, 

.1. C. BOUGHTON, Co. K., i;d Inft. 

JAS. ANDERSON, Co. L. 

*ALBEKT E. CLARK. Co.H., 4tli Cav. 

ALFRE41 N.REKl), Co. K., 

*A. PARMENTER. Co. G.. 2(1 Inft. 

*Difcl siiuo the war. 



JOHN CRONKITE, Co. F., Ifitli Inf. 
C. STEWART, Co.. L. r,th Iiif. 

JAS. HAMILTON, 
GEO. W. DIBBLE, 
DANIEL DAKE, Co. D.. 
B. F. GOOCH. Corp. Co. F., M Inft. 
*L0THU01* FULLER, Co.L., 1st Cav. 
J. C. BLAUVELT, Co. C. •' 

9 mos. Ander.souville Pi-isoii. 
G. h. HOLMES, 2(1 Lt. Co. L., " 
JAS. LEYDARD. Co. C, " 

H. M. BULLARD, Co. L.. " 
E. H. BRUCE, 

9 mos, Aiuiersonville Prison. 
J. N. ELLIOTT, 
WALLACE NICHOLS, " 
HENRY L. REEVES, " 4tli Cav. 
JAS. PUTNAM, Co. D., " 

JER. HAWKINS, Co. C, 1st Cav. 
*STEPHEN FULLER, 6tli Kentucky. 

D. SEVERANCE, Co. D., 28tli Inft. 

B. G. WEBSTER. Co. F.. 20tll '• 
*LESTER WITHEE, Co. K., 23i1 " 
W. A. COPELAND, Cpt. Co. B., 10 " 
M. G. B. SWIFT, Co. E.. 4tl) luft. 
*A. BRADLEY, Co. -.. 4tli Cav. 
*WM. HASTINGS, 1st U. S. Inft. 
A. FULLER, 2d Lt. 9tli Cav. 
*WM. MARSH, Co. C, 24th Inft. 
*OSCAR LOUD, 

MAS. M. LOUD, 

CHAS. II. HOUK, Co. L, 

*VV J. CLARK, 2(1 Lt.Co.C.,30tl) Inft. 

JNO. L. FULLER, 

GEO. ALLEN. 

JOSIAII E.MORY, Co. C, 30lh Inft. 

JNO. B. NORTHROP, 

FRK. PUTNAM. 

A". L. VAN DYN, 

C. L. BRIG HAM, 

E. N. HUGHES, 
WM. II. YKRKES. 
W. J. LITTLF. 
LESTER LIKE, 
DUANI-: COOK, 

ROBT. F. ALLEN. 2(1 Lt. " 

C. PHILLIPS, musician, " 24lli Lift. 

E. K. SI.MONI)S,Co. D., otliCav., 



HIRAM LOUNT, Co. D., 5th Cav. 
G. S. WHEKLKR, IstLt. " 
AZEL C. BLAIR, 

Andersonville, prisoner 17 months. 
WM. WOODBURN, Co. D., 5th Cav. 

Andersonville, prisoner 17 months. 
JiNO. GARDNER, Co. D., 5th Cav. 

Andersonville, prisoner 17 months. 
H. M. WHITE. 2d Lt. Co. D., 5th Cav. 
ANDREW HOUK, 
M. S. ROOT, 
JAS. K. LOWDON, 

Andersonville, prisoner C months. 
GEO. COX. Co. D , 5th Cav. 

Andersonville, prisoner 6 months. 
^ELSON LLOYD, Co. D , 5th Cav. 
*L. W.FERGUSON. Opt. " 
C. B. VAN DUYN, 
G. I,. VAN DUYN, 
H. FORCE, 
B.MILLER, 
A. BUTTERFIELD, 
C. B. COSTELLO, 

17 mos. Andersonville. 
*WEL. FORCE, Co. I.,22dlnft. 

*JER. LIKE, Co. C, 30th " 

E. S. HORTOX. Co. D.. 5th Cav. 

*ALF. BEAL. Co. K., 2d Intt. 

G. SMITHERMAN, Co. G. 3rd Cav. 
R. SMITHERMAN, Co. C, 30th Inft. 
J. L. CAMFBELL, 2dLt.Eng.& Mehs. 



*S. J. LOCMWOOD, Co. D., .5th Cav. 
*GEO. S. JEFFERDS, " 
*W L. STEWART, 

Andersonville prisoner fi mos. 
*ACMED LAWSON, 
S.C.WHEELER. 
C. O'DONNEL, 2d Lt. " 
.lOHN A. TUBES, 
GEO. KINGSLY', 
JOHN LEDYARD. 
E. K. STARKWEATHER. 
GEO. W. NEWjMAN, " 

Andersonville prisoner (; mos. 
MAJOR M. BAILEY, " 
JAS. ARMSTRONG, 
ED. S. HASTINGS. 
JACOB E. BULLOCK, " 
*A.B. DOWNER, Co.C.,8thN.Y.H.Ar. 
*B. PARMENTER, Miss. Flotilla. 
P. McCOY, Co. K., 102 U. S. Col. Inft. 
WM. HARRIS, " 

*CASS. ELIOTT, , 69th N. Y. Lift. 

*SYL. BABCOCK, Co. I , 30th Inft. 
L. L. GOOCH, Co. — , 12th U. S. R Inft 
*H. YEHKES, Co. B.. 3rd N. Y. Cav. 



J. M. DOIG. 
H. C. DENNIS, 
GEO. DENNIS, 
R. E. MANNING. 
D. R. WILSON, 
C. DOBBINS, Co. ■ 



Co. C, 2-HhInfr 



Co.L., 1st Cav. 
Co B.. 20th Inft. 



— N. Y. Inft. 



*Died since the war. 



a/ ippGr)cli 



X. 



('^) NoKTiiviLi-E, Micu., Jime 2o, 1884. 

Jier. George Bt/ffleld, JDD. : 

Deak Sir — Believint? that the tribute ottered by yon to the 
memory of our fallen comrades is worthy of preservation and should 
be accessible to every soldier, we, the undersigned, soldiers of North- 
ville and vicinity w^ould respectfully request you to publish the same. 

J. H. WOODMAN, 22(1 Mich. V. lufantrv. 
MORKI8 L. NICHOLS, Od M. V. 

A. E. HOCKVVELL, 1st Wisconsin H. A. V. 
GEOKOE H. CALKiN.S, 8th lAIicli. V. Infantry. 
WILLIAM H. BRIGHAM, J4th Midi. V. Inf. 
MYKON f. WHITE, 14Gth N. Y. Vol. 

J. W. DOLPH, 23d N. Y. Cav. 

II. YEKKES, 30th Midi. VoL Infantry. 

W. K. DOWNER, 1st Mich. EiiLnneers. 

ALVIN L. VAN DYNE, 30th Mich. V. Infantry. 

E. K. SIMONDS, 5th M. Vol. Cav. 

E. K. STARKWEATHER, 5th M. V. Cav. 

GEO. L. VAN DUYNE, Co. D., 5th Mich. Cav. 

B. GLUETSTER, 20th Mich. Inf. 

JOHN GUTHRIE, 1st Mich. Eiighieers Mechs. 

H. O. WAID, 108th N. Y. Vol. Inf. 

E. VRADENBURG, 22d Mich. V. Inf. 

A. W. CARPENTER, 13th N. Y. luf 

JAMES ARMSTRONG, 5th Mich. Cav., Co. D. 

A. POMEHOY, 24tli Midi. Inf., Co. C. 

E. S. HORTON, .5tli Mich. Cav., Co. D. 

EDWARD S. HASTINGS. 5tli Midi. Cav. 

JOHN SMURDOCK, 151st N. Y. Inf. 

H. S. NICHOLS. 1st M. Eiijj;. and .Mecli., Co. M. 

FREEMAN RENSHAW, 1st N. Y. Vet. Com. 

M. S. ROOT, 5tli Midi. Cav. 

A. C. BLAIR, 5th Mich. Cav. 

ANDREW HOUR, 5th Midi. Cav. 

HIRAM LOUNT, 5tli Mich. Cav. 

LEONARD CHARTER, 14th Mich. Vet. V. Int. 

JAMES HAMILTON. Cth Mich. luf. 

A. N. HARRISON. 9tli Iowa Inf., Co. B. 

HENRY M. WHITE, 5th Mich. Cav., Co. D. 



NoiiTHviLLE, Mich., May 31st, 1884. 

Mev. Oeorge Duffield, DD., Detroit, Mich. : 

Deak Sir — The undersigned, citizens of Northville and vicinity, 
having listened with great interest and prolit to the oration delivered 
by you in this place, yesterday, on the occasion of decorating the 



so 



graves of our fallen soldiers, hereby 
same for publication. 

J. M. SWIFT. 
J. A. DUBUAR. 

J. M. burgp:ss. 

W. II. AMBLE H. 
JAMES HUESTON. 
(iEORGE E. BRADLEY. 
B. A. WHEELER. 
HARRISON YERKES. 
JOHN G. LA1'HA:\L 
J. FERKINS. 
H. I). CLARK. 
J. H. JUNKIN. 
W. H. CHEEVER. 
J. G. SMITH. 
CHARLES R. STEVENS. 
F. S. HARRISON. 
A. E. ROCKWELL. 



respectfully re(iuest a copy of the 

G. S. VAN ZILEJ. 

A. M. RANIJOLI'H. 

T. G. RICHARDSON. 

H. W. NEV. 

W. P. YERKES. 

H. W. (JELSTON. 

ANSON L. CADY. 

WINFIELD SCOTT. 

J. O. KNAPf. 

Rev. JAMES DUBUAR. 

GEORGE C. HUESTON. 

C. M. JOSLYN. 

E. S. WOODMAN. 
M. A. PORTER. 
E. K. SIMONDS. 

D. B. NORTHRUP. 

C. B. HUNGERFORD. 



Detroit, Mich., Dec. 6th, 1884. 
Mei^srs. J. M. Swift, M. D., W. E. Downer, Sec. ofN. S. U. and others: 

Gentlemkn — Thanks for the joint request of soldier and citizen 
to publish the address. With such an endorsement, the sentiments 
therein contained become your (jwn, and increase their value an 
hundred fold. 

"Decoration Day" always reminds me of All Saints Daj^ as 
observed in many of our churches in commemoration of the " Blessed 
Dead." There is much that these days have in common. But for the 
precious lives so generously sacrificed on the altar of Liberty, by our 
noble volunteers and veterans, the fire of the altar had gone out, and 
the temple had this day been a lieap of ruins. 

As we have learned from past ages that the deterioration of every 
government begins in the decay of the principles on which it is 
founded, so let posterity learn from our own age, and be wise enough 
to take warning. All honor to "the Advance Guard!" 

"In the dream of the Northern poets 

The brave who in battle die 
Fight on in shadowy phalanx, 

In the field of the Upper Sky!" 

With the permission of the Committee I would like to give with 
the address the Northville Koll of Honor, to add the letters of 
Soldiers and Citizens, and possibly an occasional note in the Appendix. 
Very respectfully, » 

Your friend and fellow citizen, 

GEORGE DUFFIELD. 



'21 



(B) "I ca]] tl:e war against the Union, a " Rebellion," iH'cause it 
is one, and iu grave matters it is best to call things by their right 
names. I speak of it as a crime, because the Constitution of the 
United States so regards it ami puts "Kebidlion" on a par with "inva- 
sion." — EocreWa Oetfij.shtirg Onitioii. 

"I thank God for abolishing slavery as tlie origin and agent of a 
treason that is without justificatiou ami without parallel." — Seward at 
Gettysburg. 

(C) "Gen. Thomas drew his sword to put down a rebellion, 
which even by Gen. Lee's confession was both unnecessary and inde- 
fensible." — Garfield's Oration, p. 23 and j)- 43. 

"As a military question, it was in no sense 'a civil war.'" 

— Beauregard. 

Let us never forget this — least of all on " Decoration Day!" 

(D) The Greek tragedians teach the duty of burial as a universal 
custom" — the onl}' limitation, that which forbade interment within the 
borders of their native land, of sacrilegious persons, and of traitors 
■who had borne arinti agaiuxt their fellow citizens.^' ( Visscher as quoted 
by Professor Dooge, iu his Antigouej a most significant exception 
indeed ! (The italics mine). 

(E) "It has been estimated that at least one-filth of all who fell on 
the tield of battle are now lying iu uuknown graves." — Soldier's Monu- 
nteiit Dedicaiioii, Evergreen Ceiuetery, Brighfo/t, 3fass., 186G. 



22 



HOW DECORATION DAY WAS OBSERVED. 

" Northville people probably never had a tiner or more satisfactory 
celebration of the day, set apart for the commemoration of those who 
gave their lives for the salvation of their country, than that of last 
Friday. All the forenoon a crowd of busy workers were engaged in 
building a platform in the school house yard, and a large number of 
ladies were no less busy preparing floral gifts. On the arrival of the 
one o'clock train, strains of music were heard, and in a few minutes 
the Plymouth Cornet Band in new uniforms, were seen marching up 
Main street, discoursing excellent music. The band was followed by 
Eddy Post, G. A. R., of Plymouth, escorted by the Soldiers' Union of 
Northville. 

Owing to the probability of rain, it was deemed expedient to have 
the Decoration exercises first, and the procession accordingly marched 
to the cemetery, where thirty-eight young ladies, each wearing a 
badge, iucribed with the name of a State, and carrying a basket of 
tiowers, to scatter on the graves of the fallen heroes, each of which 
was marked by a small flag. 

When all the graves had been thus decorated, the procession 
marched to the main entrance of the cemetery, where a cenotaph 
inscribed with the names of the soldiers buried elsewhere had been 
placed. The procession formed a circle round it, and after the tiowers 
had been strewed about it, a brief address was delivered by A. M. 
Randolph. The procession and citizens then assembled at the stand. 

Ihe exercises were begun with a piece of music by the band. 
The prayer was ottered by Rev. H. W. Gelston. A solo was then sung 
by M. H. Witliee in an excellent manner, and the writer takes pleasure 
in saying that he never heard that stirring National hymn sound any 
better. 

Dr. Sivift as the President of the day, then introduced Rev. George 
Duffield, DD., of Detroit, who proceeded to deliver an address that 
stirred the hearts of every ex-soldier present. *.-!:* 

The exercises closed with the following 

DECOEATION HYMN, 

BY Dll. SWIFT. 

We give to memory's sway 
All that our hearts can pay, 

And all our powers: 
These sacred aisles we tread 
Beneath which sleep our dead— 
With rarest flowers we spread — 

Unsullied flowers. 



23 

There un(Iistiir])e(l tliey lie 
While hurrying feet go by 

And the swift years. 
In honored graves they rest 
And we at loves behest 
Enshrine their memory blest 

With dowers and tears. 

This land our Fathers gave 
This land they died to save, 

From traitor's hand 
Our flag whose fold of blue 
Decked with the stars anew, 
In Union firm and true, 

Waves o'er the land. 

Then rest, brave soldier, rest, 
Enshrined in every breast 

A sacred trust, 
With rarest flowers of May, 
As spring yields up her sway, 
We'll ever and for aye 

Hallow thy dust. 



LADIES REPRESENTING STATES. 



MINNIE SMITH, N. Carolina. 
LIDA STARKWEATHER, Oregon. 
GRACE LAPHAM, Maryhmd. 
VENA HAUK, Arkansa.s. 
CAERIE GUTHRIE, Iowa. 
(iEORGIA PALMER, Massaoliusetts. 
GRACE BLACKWOOD, Nevada. 
GEORGIA SIMMONS, Nebraska. 
MYRIIE KNAPP, California. 
JOSIE GILLESPIE, Mauie. 
NELLIE GILLETT, Tennesee. 
NELLIE WAID, Ohio. 
MAUD STARKWEATHER, W. Va. 
HATTIE THORNTON, Kansas. 
EMELINE GAGE, Michigan. 
MYRTIE BLAIR, Georgia. 
NORA REED, Minnesota. 
MAY BOVEE, New Hampsliire. 
MAY GREER, Vermont. 



BIRDIE POWER, Rliode Island. 
HATTIE LOUDEN. Connectient. 
LILIAN LAKE, New York. 
ANNA BRIGHAM, New Jersey. 

, Louisiana. 

MARY ROBINSON, Pennsylvania. 
MARY SIMMONS, Wisconsin. 
JENNIE BABBITT, S. Carolina. 
HATTIE CLARK, Delaware. 
CORA GREER, Florida. 
LEAFA (JREER, Mississippi. 
MAY JOHNSON, Alabama. 
FLORA WAID, Texas. 
EMMA SIMONDS, HI. 
CORA WELSH, IMissouri. 
LIZZIE STARKWEATHER, Ind. 
IDA (;AGE, Colorado. 
ALICE CHARTER, Kentucky. 
EVA BEAL, Virginia. 



24 



At the adjournment of the public exercises the Soldier's Union 
met at the Council Room and elected as officers for the ensuing year — 
President— H. O. Waid. 
Secretary — Wii. E. Downeij. 

— Northville Record. 



P. S. — The publication of this Address was unavoidably delayed 
to get a complete list of names. 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



016 090 830 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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